Golden Era? Queen Elizabeth II Calls Chinese Officials ‘Very Rude’

When it comes to diplomatic ties between China and the United Kingdom, all that glitters may not be gold.

Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to the U.K. last year, officials on both sides declared with much fanfare that China-U.K. relations had entered the “golden era.” On Wednesday, the Chinese government and Buckingham Palace battled to maintain that narrative following comments by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II captured on camera that Chinese officials had been “very rude" during Mr. Xi's trip.

In a video distributed by Buckingham Palace, the queen is introduced at a palace garden party to Metropolitan Police Commander Lucy D’Orsi, who oversaw security operations during Mr. Xi’s visit in October. “Oh, bad luck,” says the queen to Ms. D’Orsi, who goes on to describe Chinese officials storming out of a meeting with the British ambassador.

“They were very rude to the ambassador,” the queen replied, calling the episode extraordinary.

The queen’s comments were a rare departure from the U.K.’s official hesitance to criticize China, even as relations have been strained by recent incidents including the case of a bookseller with U.K. citizenship believed by the British government to have been “involuntarily removed to the mainland” from Hong Kong.

Yet to be fair, members of the British royal family themselves have lavished some undiplomatic treatment on China in the past.

During a 1986 state visit to China, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband, famously advised British students: "If you stay here much longer you will all be slitty-eyed."

The queen’s comments on Tuesday trickled onto Chinese social media platforms, where reactions spanned the range from bemused to outraged to confused. Among the angry, several referenced an episode from the late 18th century when British emissary George Macartney was compelled to drop to one knee as a show of respect during a meeting with the Qianlong emperor.

"Brazen. Did you not bow down when visiting the Great Qing [Dynasty] emperor?" wrote one user of the Twitter-like Weibo microblogging site. British historians often argue that Mr. Macartney, by refusing a full kowtow, had shown the emperor a measure of polite defiance.

Other users criticized their compatriots for getting upset. "She says they were rude. Debate based on facts. What's the use of getting all red in the face?" said one.

In the latest incident, while it's unclear exactly what the Chinese officials said to the ambassador to earn the charge of being rude, it likely pales on the scale of undiplomatic exchanges to the famous letter sent in 1793 by Chinese emperor Qianlong to England's King George III​​ following Mr. Macartney's visit. Addressing the trove of gifts King George sent to Beijing along with a request for expanded trading rights, the letter bluntly noted China's prodigious wealth at the time.

"I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for your country's manufactures," read the letter, which referred repeatedly to British and other European traders as barbarians. ​"​It behoves you, O King, to respect my sentiments and to display even greater devotion and loyalty in future, so that, by perpetual submission to our Throne, you may secure peace and prosperity for your country hereafter.​"​